Troubleshooting common ArmA 3 problems on Windows 10

Arma 3 is warfare brought to life in gaming. No wonder the game has a huge platform-like following among gamers. That said, it is plagued by lots of issues. In this article, we’ll be showing you how to fix those problems that are connected to your system and in-game settings.

Can Your Computer Run Arma 3?

Checking if your system is well suited to run the game without issues is the first thing you should always do. Some users reported experiencing bugs and glitches, only to find out their PCs lack one or more key components required to run the game.

Even if you have a high-spec processor or high-end GPU, you might need to upgrade certain aspects of your computer, such as your RAM or operating system. Below, you’ll find the minimum and recommended system requirements for the game:

Minimum Requirements

Operating System: 64-bit Windows 7 SP1

CPU: AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz; Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz

GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000; AMD Radeon HD 5670; NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT

System Memory (RAM): 4 GB

Video RAM: 512 MB

Free Hard Drive Space: 32 GB

DirectX: 10

Recommended Requirements

Operating System: 64-bit Windows 7, 8, 10

CPU: AMD FX 4300; Intel Core i5-4460 or better

GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660

System Memory (RAM): 6 GB

Video RAM: 2 GB

Free Hard Drive Space: 32 GB, preferably SSD

DirectX: 11

The steps below will show you how to check whether your system’s specifications are up to par:

1. Use the Windows + I combination to launch the Settings application.
2. Once Settings opens, click on System.
3. Scroll down in the left pane and click on About.
4. You’ll find info about your system under Device Specifications, such as Installed RAM, Processor, and System Type (64-bit or 32-bit).
5. These steps will show you how to check the specifications of your GPU:

• Go to Settings >> System
• Scroll down under Display and click on Advanced Display Settings.
• Click on Display Adapter Properties once the Advanced Display Settings screen opens.
• A dialog will now pop up, showing your graphic card’s properties.

1. To check your DirectX version, click on the magnifier in your taskbar, type “dxdiag” (no quotes), then click on the first result. Once the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window opens, you’ll find your DirectX version under System Information.

If your system is lacking in any way, do well to upgrade it, and we advise you to meet or surpass the recommended requirements of the game to enjoy smooth gameplay. Now, let’s move on to fixing the common Arma 3 bugs.

What if Arma 3 won’t launch on Windows 10 and Encounters Regular Crashes?

Launching and crashing issues are quite common on Windows 10, judging from the complaints of many gamers. Some users explained that the game did not respond when they tried to launch it, and others reported that the launcher always crashed whenever they tried to start the game.

Crashing issues also occur in the middle of gameplay. There are different causes of the crashing and launching bugs on Arma 3. They include problematic display drivers, faulty game files, corrupt game cache and Steam files, and wrong game configurations, among other problems.

The fixes in this article will show you how to resolve the crashing and launching issues that you’re facing.

Make Sure Your Graphics Card Driver is Up to Date

Problematic graphics card drivers are part of the main reasons for game crashes and launch issues. Your display driver is responsible for your system’s communication with your GPU, and if it goes bad or becomes outdated, you’ll likely experience unexpected game crashes. The problem GPU might also cause the game not to respond when you to launch it.

To fix the issue, you first have to perform a clean installation of your driver to strike out the possibility that it’s not properly installed or has gone corrupt. Follow these steps to reinstall your display driver:

1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows and R keys simultaneously.
2. Type “devmgmt.msc” (no quotes) into the dialog box and click on OK.
3. Once Device Manager opens, go to Display Adapters, right-click your GPU and click on Uninstall Device.
4. Click on Uninstall again in the pop-up and make sure the “Delete the driver software of this device” checkbox is unchecked.
5. Once Windows completes the uninstallation process, reboot your PC.
6. After your computer starts up, head over to Device Manager and click on the magnifier icon at the top of the window, or click on Action and select “Scan for hardware changes” to allow Windows automatically detect the uninstalled driver and reinstall it.
7. Once this is complete, restart your PC and check if the issue has been resolved.

Update Your Graphics Card Driver

If your graphics card driver is out of date, it might cause problems, especially if the game is configured to work with the most recent driver software of your card. Installing the latest version of your display driver can be very easy, depending on which step you take. We’ll show you how to update your driver, using Auslogics Driver Updater, Device Manager, and the proprietary application of your graphics card’s manufacturer.

Using Auslogics Driver Updater

This program is designed to detect and update problematic device drivers on Windows computers. Not only will you find out that your graphics card driver is out-of-date, missing, or corrupt, you’ll also find out if there are other faulty or outdated drivers on your system. What’s more, you can be confident that you’ll be installing the updated driver from a database that contains drivers endorsed by graphics card manufacturers.

Follow these steps to use Auslogics Driver Updater:

1. Visit this web page and download the program.
2. Go to the folder where you downloaded the installer and run it.
3. Choose a language and click on the Install button.
4. Once the installation process completes, allow the tool to launch and scan your system for problematic device drivers.
5. Your graphics card driver will show up on the list of problem drivers if it’s out of date.
6. Click on the Update button to install the updated driver for your card and other devices that show up on the list.
7. Once the program updates your drivers, restart your system and check for the error.

Using Device Manager

Apart from reinstalling your driver via Device Manager, you can also use the program to update it. Follow these steps:

1. Launch the Run dialog box by punching the Windows and R keys together.
2. Type “devmgmt.msc” (without the quotes) into the dialog box and click on OK.
3. Once Device Manager opens, go to Display Adapters, right-click your GPU and click on Update Driver.
4. After the Update Driver window comes up, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software” to prompt Windows to perform an online search for the updated driver of your graphics card.
5. Your graphics card driver will be updated once Windows finds its latest driver.
6. You can now reboot your system and check if the problem goes away.

Use Your Graphics Adapter Program

You can use the proprietary program of your graphics card to update your driver. You can access these programs by right-clicking your Desktop and selecting them from the context menu. You’ll be using AMD Radeon Settings for AMD and Nvidia Control Panel for Nvidia.

Using AMD Radeon Settings

1. Right-click your Desktop and click on AMD Radeon Settings
2. Go to the top-right corner of the window and click on the System button once the AMD Radeon Settings window opens.
3. After you get to the System page, go to the Software tab to see the current driver version of the card and other details of the driver.
4. Now, to update the driver, return to the Home page of the AMD Radeon Settings window and click on the Updates button located in the bottom-left corner.
5. If your graphics driver needs an update, the next page will display a button to install the updated version of the driver.
6. Select Custom Upgrade or Express Upgrade under New Optional or New Recommended.
7. The Custom Upgrade option allows you to choose components of the driver software that you wish to install, while the Express Upgrade option installs the standard components of the driver.
8. Once the tool downloads the driver, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Using the Nvidia Control Panel

1. Right-click your Desktop and choose NVIDIA Control Panel from the context menu.
2. After NVIDIA Control Panel appears, go to the top of the window and click on Help, then click Updates in the drop-down menu.
3. Once you get to the Updates tab of the NVIDIA Update window, click on Check for Updates.
4. Complete the installation process by following the prompts on the subsequent screens.
5. If you want to configure the tool to check for and install updates automatically, navigate to the Preferences tab and tick the checkbox that reads, “Automatically check for updates.”
6. Reboot your system once the update completes and check if the error persists.

Prevent Your Antivirus from Blocking the Game

Some antivirus programs are notoriously known to quarantine safe files. Your antivirus suite might be blocking some of Arma 3’s files, causing the game to crash or refuse to launch. To fix the issue, try adding the game to your antivirus’ exception or whitelist, depending on the program you’re using.

If you’re not using a third-party, the game’s files might be blocked by the Virus & Threat Protection tool of your native antivirus program, Windows Security. To prevent the tool from blocking the game, add it as an exclusion. Here’s how:

1. Right-click the Start button and click on Settings or press the Windows and I keys together.
2. Select Update & Security once Settings opens.
3. Go to the left pane and click on Windows Security.
4. Go to the right pane of the window and click on Virus & Threat Protection under Protection Areas.
5. Once the tool opens, scroll down and click on Manage Settings under Virus & Threat Protection Settings.
6. On the next screen, scroll down to Exclusions and click on Add or Remove Exclusions.
7. Click on the Add Exclusion button when you get to the Exclusions screen, then click on Folder in the context menu.
8. Once the Select Folder dialog opens, navigate to the folder where Arma 3 is located, select it, then click it and hit the Enter key.
9. Try launching the game and check if the problem goes away.

Verify Integrity of Game Files

Arma 3 relies on its files to function properly, just like every other PC game. You could be experiencing the crash and launch issues because some of these files are corrupt or missing. Sometimes, game files become corrupted due to incomplete updates or abrupt system shutdown during gameplay, among other situations. To fix your crashing or launching issue, in this case, use the Steam Client to scan your game files and replace faulty ones. Follow the steps below:

1. Open the Start menu, search for Steam, and launch the program. If you have a shortcut on your Desktop, double-click it.
2. Once Steam opens, click on Library.
3. Locate Arma 3, right-click it, then click on Properties.
4. Switch to the right pane of the window, click on Local Files, then click on the “Verify integrity of game files” option.
5. Allow the program to scan your game files and replace any file that is missing or corrupt.
6. Relaunch the game once the verification is complete and check if it refuses to launch or still crashes.

Delete the Game’s Multiplayer Cache

The game’s multiplayer cache contains some of your multiplayer preferences and configurations. Over time, it might accumulate discarded selections and become corrupt, causing the game to encounter random crashes, especially when you try to access the multiplayer feature. To prevent future crash issues, follow the steps below to delete the multiplayer cache:

1. Make sure you close the game. If it’s still showing up in Task Manager, select it and click on End Task.
2. Press and hold the Windows key, then tap the R key to launch the Run dialog box.
3. Once Run opens, type “%AppData” (no quotes) into the text box and hit the Enter key.
4. The Roaming folder will now open.
5. Locate the Arma 3 folder and double-click it.
6. Navigate to the MpMissioncache folder and delete it.
7. Relaunch the game and access Multiplayer to create a new cache.

You can also navigate to C:\Users\*YourUserName*\AppData\Local\Arma 3\DataCache\ and delete the Cache.ch file.

Get Rid of the Faulty PhysX3_x86.dll File

The PhysX3_x86.dll file is a vital Steam file. It could become corrupt and cause you lots of problems. This is one of the reasons for the launching issue. To resolve the problem in this case, you have to delete the file and prompt Steam to replace it. Follow these steps:

1. Open a File Explorer window by clicking on the folder icon in your taskbar.
2. Once File Explorer opens, go to the left pane of the window and click on This PC.
3. Double-click your primary hard drive, then navigate to Program Files (x86) >> Steam or the folder where you installed Steam.
4. Now, use the search function in File Explorer to find PhysX3_x86.dll.
5. Once the file shows up in the results, right-click it, then press the shift key and click on Delete.
6. Once you’ve deleted the file, head over to the Steam Client and verify Arma 3’s game files to replace the PhysX3_x86.dll file.
7. Once you’ve verified the game files, relaunch Arma 3 and check for the issue.

Modify Your Launch Settings in the Steam Client

Another reason you might be experiencing the launch problems with Arma 3 is that there are issues with your current launch settings. The steps below will show you how to fix the issue in this case:

1. Open the Steam Client.
2. Click on Library at the top of the window once Steam appears.
3. Once the list of your installed games shows up, locate Arma 3, right-click it, and then click on Properties.
4. Click on the Set Launch Options button under the General tab on the right pane.
5. Once the Launch options screen shows up, type the following in the text box and click on OK:

-malloc=system

• Now, launch the game and check for the problem.

Launch Steam as an Administrator

Steam might be causing the launch issue you’re facing because the program does not have the required permission to use all of your system’s resources. Try running Steam as an administrator to lift the limitations presently on the program.

Normally, what you have to do is right-click the app’s shortcut and click on Run as Administrator or right-click Steam in the Start menu and select Run as Administrator. Once your select Run as Administrator, in any case, click on Yes in the User Account Control dialog. You should note, however, that you’ll have to repeat right-clicking on Steam or its shortcut and clicking on Run as Administrator whenever you want to launch the program.

Follow these steps if you want Windows to grant Steam administrative privileges by default:

1. Open a File Explorer window and locate the executable file of the Steam Client by using the search function.
2. Right-click on the EXE file and click on Properties.
3. Once the Properties dialog appears, switch to the Compatibility tab.
4. Under the Compatibility tab, tick the checkbox that reads, “Run this program as an administrator” and click on the OK button.
5. Now open Steam and launch the game.

Edit the Game’s Configuration File

Arma 3’s config file contains certain parameters that detect how the game runs. These settings include CPU and GPU maximum frames, as well as resolution settings, among other configurations. Some of the current settings in the config file might be causing the game’s launching and crashing issue. To make sure the game’s configuration file isn’t the reason for the challenges you’re facing, follow the steps in the guide below to tweak the file:

1. Press the Windows and E keys together to open a File Explorer window.
2. Navigate to the Documents folder.
3. Locate the Arma 3 folder and double-click it.
4. Look for the Config.cfg file, right-click it, place your mouse pointer over Open With, then choose Notepad.
5. Once the Notepad window opens, click on Edit at the top of the window, then click on Find.
6. Input “gpu max frames” into the Find text box and click on the Find Next button.
7. Once you see the lines below, edit them to:

gpu max frames 1

cpu max frames 1

8. Now, use this configuration for the following lines:

Maxmem=8192

Maxvram=4042

cpucount=4

exthreads=7

9. Press the Ctrl and S keys together to save the file, then launch the game to check if the problem has been resolved.

Run the System File Checker Tool

The game might be affected by corrupted system files, especially in cases where it crashes with an error such as STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_FORMAT. If you encounter such an issue, use the SFC tool to scan your computer for corrupted files and replace them. You should note that running the SFC tool requires you to run the inbox Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. Follow these steps to run the tool:

1. Open the Run dialog box, using the Windows + R combination.
2. Input “CMD” (no quotes) into the text box, then press and hold the Ctrl and Shift keys before clicking on the OK button.
3. Click on Yes once the User Account Control asks you for permission to launch the elevated Command Prompt.
4. Once Command Prompt opens, type the line below to run DISM:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Allow the command to run its course before moving on to the next step. In many cases, users found that running DISM resolved the issue. So, once you run the DISM tool, check if the issue has been resolved before you move on.

5. Now, type “sfc /scannow” (no quotes) into the Command Prompt window and punch the Enter key.
6. Allow the tool to complete the process, then check the game for the error.

How to Fix Arma 3 Lagging Issues and FPS Drops

Another problem that gamers complained about is the annoying frames per second (FPS) drops and lagging issues that make the game unplayable. The reports indicate that the game’s frame rates mostly drop in some multiplayer maps. The issue could be an in-game problem but might also be connected to your computer. We’ll show you different tips on how to boost your FPS, lagging, and stuttering issues.

Before you start, make sure your system’s specs are high enough to run the game and ensure your OS and graphics card driver are up-to-date.

Delete the Contents of the Temp and Prefetch Folders

Your game and other programs usually leave certain temporary files behind in the temp folder. The prefetch folder is also filled with files and folders that can easily be recreated. Some of these files might become corrupt over time, and could be responsible for the lags you’re experiencing. Try deleting these files and check whether you’ll see some improvements:

1. Right-click the Start button and click on Run.
2. Type “%temp%” (without the quotes) and hit the Enter key.
3. Once the Temp folder opens, press the Ctrl and A keys simultaneously to select every file and folder, then hit the Delete key.
4. Open the Run dialog box again, using the Windows + R combination.
5. Type “prefetch” (no quotes) into the text box and hit the Enter key.
6. Press Ctrl + A once the Prefetch folder opens, then hit the Delete key.
7. Empty your recycle bin, then reboot your system and try playing the game.

Set the Game’s Priority in Task Manager

The priority of any application in Task Manager determines how seriously your CPU will handle the tasks of that particular app. You can improve the performance of Arma 3 by setting its priority to High in Task Manager. Follow these steps:

1. Punch the Ctrl, Shift and Esc keys together to launch Task Manager.
2. After Task Manager shows up, locate Arma 3, right-click it, then click on Go to Details.
3. Once you get to the details tab, right-click Arma 3’s entry, place your mouse pointer over Set Priority, then click on High.
4. Restart the game and check for the performance issue.

Tweak Some of the Game’s Settings

Most times, Arma 3’s performance has a lot to do with some of your in-game settings. You can tweak some settings here and there to boost things up. Open the game’s launcher, go to the All Parameters tab, and check the CPU Count and Enable Hyper Threading checkboxes.

Launch the game, click on Options on the home screen, and then select Video. Change your video settings between Low, Standard and High in the Overall Quality drop-down and check which one suits your system.

Go to the Display Settings and make sure the resolution of the game is the same as your system’s. To check your system’s resolution, right-click your desktop, then click on Display Settings. On the Display Settings screen, locate your system’s current display under Display Resolution.

Adjust Your System for Best Performance

Try tweaking your performance settings to free up your CPU to take more intensive tasks. Follow these steps:

1. Open a File Explorer window by double-clicking any folder on your Desktop.
2. Go to the left pane of the window, right-click This PC, and then click on Properties.
3. On the System window, click on Advanced System Settings to launch the System Properties dialog.
4. When the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog opens, click on Settings under Performance.
5. Once the Performance Options dialog opens, click on the Adjust for Best Performance radio button and click on OK.
6. Run the game to check for the lag issue.

Fix Arma 3 Network Issues

Connectivity issues are another category of problem that plagues Arma 3. Some users complained that they couldn’t get the game to connect when trying to access multiplayer and others reported that the game disconnects their internet connection.

We’ll show you some fixes to apply to resolve the connectivity issue you’re facing.

Allow the Game Through Your Firewall

Firewall programs are known to block games from accessing the Internet. To make sure your firewall isn’t the reason for the connection issue you’re facing, allow the game through the program. There are different ways to do this, depending on the particular system security suite you’re using.

If you don’t have a third-party firewall program, then you have to allow the program through Windows Defender Firewall. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the far right of your taskbar and click on the “Show hidden icons” arrow.
2. Click on the white shield in the icon tray that slides up.
3. Windows Security will now open.
4. Click on Firewall & Network Protection.
5. Click on “Allow an App through Firewall.”
6. Click on the Change button once the Allowed Apps window shows up, then click on the Public and Private boxes next to Arma 3.
7. Launch Arma 3, and the game should be able to connect.

Set the Server Browser’s Maximum Pings Per Minute if Arma 3 Shuts Down Your Internet

1. Launch Steam and go to Settings.
2. Switch to the In-Game tab.
3. Go to the “In-game server browser: Max pings/minute” drop-down and choose 250.
4. Click OK and check if the issue is gone.

Conclusion

Do not hesitate to contact us via the comments section if you have thoughts about Arma 3.